Complete Results
Photo Gallery

NEW ORLEANS – Freshman Olivier Gingras (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) and senior Daniel Leitner (Niederfischbach, Germany) finished back-to-back to secure a 4-1 win over No. 6 seed Appalachian State for the University of South Alabama men's tennis team at the Sun Belt Championship on Friday.

The 69th-ranked Jaguars improve to 15-8 overall and advance to the semifinals, while the Mountaineers end their season at 11-11.

The third-seeded Jaguars will take on No. 65 Texas-Arlington tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. at the University of New Orleans Tennis Courts.

"I thought we had a good start, but to be honest, I was a little surprised by how well Appalachian State competed," said USA head coach Nick Brochu. "They showed up to play today. We had a long rain delay, but as soon as we got back out on the courts we were ready and started winning. We got on the board 2-0 and from that point on we had the momentum."

With South Alabama up 2-1, Gingras won 6-4, 7-5 over Jan-Willem Kleynhans at No. 5 and Leitner, ranked No. 89 in the nation, immediately followed with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Oliver Casey at the No. 1 spot.

"Olivier and Daniel clinched the match within 10 seconds of each other," said Brochu. "That was an awesome feeling."

"Getting the win today as a team was great," said Leitner. "For me individually, I wasn't playing my best tennis, but I kept looking around at the other guys doing really well so that gave me confidence on the big points. Winning the first-set tiebreaker was crucial. If you want to win a championship, those are the points you need to win."

Sophomore Tuki Jacobs (Windhoek, Namibia) gave the Jags an early lead when he downed Zach Bost 6-0, 6-1 on the No. 4 court and junior Juan Troglia (Mendoza, Argentina) dropped Jack Maddocks 6-2, 7-5 in the No. 3 flight.

"Tuki is a strong player, and he can really dictate from the baseline with his forehand," said Brochu. "If you're facing Tuki and he is confident and hitting the ball well, you're going to have a tough day. Once he gets up a break, he's just like a train. He starts going, and he's really hard to stop." 

"I knew that some courts would have a battle, but if I got my point on the board then I could help give some momentum to the whole team," said Jacobs. "I just kept my kept my cool and stayed consistent today."

Scott Webster claimed the lone point for App State when he defeated junior Tim Srkala (Brno, Czech Republic) 6-0, 7-5.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—